This invention relates to personal transportation devices and more specifically to folding bicycles.
Many attempts have been made to create folding bicycles and many products are available commercially on the market. A key problem with existing devices is that frame structures which accommodate folding typically are less rigid in the deployed configuration than those of a conventional bicycle. As a result, folding bicycles typically feel more flexible and less stable than conventional bicycles when ridden vigorously.
A second problem with folding bicycles is that they are often equipped with idiosyncratic transmission components, such as unusually small rear sprockets or special-purpose hubs. These components present barriers to servicing the bicycle and to adaptation of a folding bicycle frame to different applications.
It is the object of this invention to provide a bicycle whose frame delivers the essential performance characteristics of a full-sized bicycle frame, and yet is foldable. A further object of the invention is to provide a single frame that can be configured with a wide variety of different standard transmission elements.